New Delhi: Praise has been pouring in for Captain Smit Machchhar for his heroic act aboard a Dubai-Tel Aviv flydubai flight. While the incident has once again raised aviation safety concerns, it has also inspired banners taking a dig at the Cockroach Janta Party in Pune.
Several banners, put up by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Pune, were seen on the streets of the city, calling on people to be a “Machchhar” and not a “cockroach”, in a reference to the Indian pilot and the CJP.
“When life gives you a chance, be a Machchhar, not a cockroach,” read the banner, which also had a photo of the Captain.
Photos of the banner soon reached social media, drawing mixed reactions from users. While some appreciated the wordplay on the captain’s surname, others called it “distasteful”.
“His surname is being compared with cockroach, Sad!” wrote a person on X.
Another said, “Please do not use our surnames for unnecessary relations to any kind of politics…his act was human. As someone who is belonging to similar social community as him..i request the person who has made this to not use the surname for anything near to politics”.
“This is akin to degrading someone’s surname,” read a comment.
One user even had a piece of advice.
“Give quality education in government schools and subsidise pilot training and open more international quality pilot training government institutes. So that we get more machchar and don’t need cockroaches any more,” a person wrote.
One user called out the BJP for “turning a selfless brave act of that pilot into a political stunt”.
The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha also posted the banner on its official Instagram page on 3 October.
Also read: After Smit Machchhar’s heroic act, Indians are curious about his surname
Thwarting an attack
On 30 September, Smit Machchhar was captaining a flydubai flight when he was stabbed by his co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, who allegedly tried to crash the plane. Machchhar fought off Hammami and managed to open the cockpit’s door, foiling the co-pilot’s plan.
Al-Hammami, who is now under arrest, told investigators in the UAE that he had planned to carry out a 9/11-like attack by crashing the plane into a building or an aircraft at the airport after killing Machchhar, according to Israel’s Hebrew media outlets.
Machchhar, meanwhile, is recovering at an Abu Dhabi hospital. His heroic act has been lauded by world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
It is utterly disrespectful to our heroic pilot Cpt. Smit Machchaar.
BJP has completely lost its mind.
Honestly it’s a self goal.